HOUSTON - Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan today joined a lawsuit seeking to stop the federal government from excluding undocumented immigrants from counting toward apportioning Congress.
On behalf of Harris County, Ryan joined a lawsuit in California arguing against President Trump’s declaration that “aliens”—persons who are not documented—should not be used to determine how many members of Congress a state has.
“The U.S. Constitution is very clear that all persons are counted when a determination is made on congressional representation,” said County Attorney Ryan. “If successful, the president’s attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants would be disastrous for Harris County and indeed the entire country.”
Ryan explains that the U.S. Census count is used every ten years to determine how many members of Congress a state will have based on its population. The data is also used to set the number of votes each state will have in the Electoral College, as well as being used to determine how trillions of dollars in federal funding for healthcare, transportation, economic development and more will be spent and to help local officials make decisions on a variety of issues, such as where to establish businesses and how to zone schools.
The lawsuit that Harris County is joining claims the president’s effort against undocumented immigrants violates Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment and the 10th and 14th Amendments, as well as laws passed by Congress and court rulings. The lawsuits were filed by numerous states and local governments.
Because of the population growth in Texas, the state was expected to be awarded an additional three congressional seats. But if the state’s undocumented immigrants are not counted, that number would decrease. Some experts even believe that Harris County could lose a congressional seat it currently has.
This is not the first time the County Attorney’s Office has taken legal action on half of residents to ensure an inclusive census. Last year, Ryan filed a brief on behalf of Harris County in a lawsuit that sought to stop the administration’s plan to put a citizenship question on the 2020 Census, which Ryan said would have had a chilling effect on counting undocumented immigrants. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected that effort.
“When it comes to the U.S. Census, when it comes to representation in Congress, when it comes to federal funding, we must ensure that everyone counts,” said County Attorney Ryan. “This was enshrined in our Constitution over 200 years and it still matters today.”